I noticed neighbor Salil walking by sporting the cool Google Glass. Time for a demo!
It has a battery back on one temple stem, but feels pretty comfortable. The rectangular glass has an internal 45° cut with thin film coating that reflects the projected light from the side into the eye. The technique and refracted tint are similar to the docking sight used on Apollo, just much smaller.
The Google Glass is an overlay. Salil is also wearing prescription glasses underneath. With the display above the vision center line, it’s fairly easy to ignore, yet always available a quick glance up.
It starts with a simple display of the time. There is a voice interface. When I say:
“OK Glass. Take a picture.” It takes one from that first person perspective.
As a photographer, this speaks to a certain recurring daydream I have, of being able to “record” the fleeting moment of something wonderful with just a click of the mind.
It also can “take a video” and in an earlier experiment, it could be set to take a photo every 10 seconds, all day long. That leads to some amazing perspectives, but I have to imagine it creates a bit of a photo editing challenge. =)
This internal glass partial-mirror has the added benefit that the person you are facing can tell if the screen is an active distraction, or if video is recording (this cue was a recent UI addition). That has proven to be an important social cue to what might otherwise be a bit off-putting in conversation.
Sergey Brin and Salil are wearing the Glass continuously as part of extended user testing. They claim that the battery lasts all day.
And then, as if the scene was not surreal enough, Sergey’s mom walks by. She gives us a glance like “not that thing again.”
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